One Minute
by utahyoda
Summary: Remus told Tonks he didn't care, but she knows he lied.


One Minute 

AN: This is the sequel to a story soon to be posted, but it stands all right on it's own, I think. Events immediately following Tonks and Lupin escorting Harry & Co. back to Hogwarts after Christmas during OtP.

All things Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling and not me. Sigh.

"It's beautiful," she breathed, opening her arms wide and breathing in the frosty air. "I've never been here. How do you know about it?"

"I grew up near here. Over that hill," he pointed toward one of the blue hills in the distance, covered by a sweeping of snow. "I came here a lot as a boy."

"I'm a city girl, myself. But I can see why you'd love it here." She gazed another moment. "Why did you bring me?"

"Well," Remus said, taking a very small pouch from a pocket inside his robes and waving his wand at it. It immediately swelled, presenting a large basket. "I promised you hot chocolate, remember? When Dumbledore asked us to escort the kids back to Hogwarts. You said it would be cold, and I promised hot chocolate."

She sat on the magically warmed blanket he had spread over the snowy ground. "I thought that when I started yelling at you last night the deal was off."

"A marauder doesn't go back on his promise, especially when time with a lovely young lady is at stake."

"What about when the alleged "young lady" corners you in the kitchen the next morning and picks a fight again?"

"No, not even when the charming young lady does everything she can to avoid him for the rest of the day." Actually, he had been tempted to forget about his offer. When she had stomped up the stairs of the knight bus, students in tow, without a look at him, he'd wondered if it would be better to let her cool off, after all. She did have a right to be angry with him, he'd decided sometime during the night. He'd told himself that he was trying to be friendly with a new young member of the Odrder; he remembered what it was like to be surrounded by people so much older, so well-known, so experienced, and wondering if he really belonged. Then he'd told himself that she was so intriguing; and why not try to figure her out? She was Sirius' cousin, after all, and couldn't he use a new friend, too? After a while he'd had to admit to himself that she was possibly the most delightful person he'd ever known and he enjoyed spending time with her very much, but of course she would never feel the same. Somewhere amid all this self-deluded rambling, he had fallen head over heels for Nymphadora Tonks. His mistake had been letting her see it, not pulling away before she could develop feelings for him. It would be so much better if she would find someone else, someone young and with the energy that she possessed. Someone better.

"I owe you an apology, Tonks."

"You mean a better apology than the pathetic excuse for an answer you gave me last night? Something about me needing to find someone better? Or an apology for the fact that you're about to break my heart and pretend it's some terribly noble action?"

Break her heart? "Nymphadora, I-"

She cut him off. "Or are you going to apologize for lying to me weeks ago when you told me you didn't feel anything for me besides friendship? You're going to tell me that you care about me, but you're going to hurt me anyway?"

"I do care about you. I don't want you hurt. That's why I said what I did."

"Remus, I don't plan on being rejected over and over again. But I also don't plan on letting you walk away unless you really want to. If you can still tell me, one minute from now, that you don't care about me, than I'll leave you alone. I promise."

"I don't want to say it. I didn't enjoy lying to you."

"Then I suggest you don't make a habit of it. Fifty seconds."

What did she think fifty seconds would change? A lifetime of ostracism and fear couldn't just disappear in a minute. He looked over at her, and she had a very Black-ish grin on her face. She rose on her knees, and crawled toward him. Taking his face in her hands, she whispered, "Forty seconds." She pulled him toward her, kissing him.

He hadn't felt this way in as long as he could remember. He let his arms wrap around her waist as hers encircled his neck, and returned her kiss, a warmth dispelling the frosty air around them. He felt a mad desire to life her into the air, to spin her in circles, but that would have meant pulling away, and he couldn't do that.

She broke away, far too soon, and he looked into her dark eyes, intently focused in his. "Five seconds."

He couldn't say it.

"All right, then."


End file.
